Families Across Time and Distance
by Mini Mashin
Summary: YYH/IY crossover. Families will always stay together, no matter what. Bonds can be broken, and make-shift families can stick together for eternity. Shippo learns that the hard way, and many others along the journey are going to help him.
1. Chapter 1:Introduction

**Mashin:** Decided to get writing this. Since it was the one with the most votes when I checked, I'll start it first!

**DISCLAIMER:** I own nothing. Nothing at all. I certainly do not own the two anime/manga mentioned. Otherwise, I'd be hauling my butt to some paper with a pencil and a pen, and get drawing.

On a side note, some things may be jumbled up or confusing, because I read the manga of the two animes, I don't watch it. So there may be some different facts, and it's hard to read freshly translated manga online. So, sorry if I get some stuff wrong.

* * *

It was cold, it was raining, and he had no source of warmth, other than the limp body sleeping beside him, his wet and damp tail that was already wrapped around him and the body, and his clothes, which were wet. He felt cold to the core and tired, already feeling the cramps in his leg muscles.

They had been traveling for more than 2 days straight, them being the outcasts of the group of bandits and the ones to make sure their tracks were covered and nobody followed them. They were mostly tormented for them even being there, but it was an easy way to get shelter, protection, and some food for the while.

Simply looking around him at the wet scenery reminded him of memories. Memories of the people he left behind.

Sadly letting out a chuckle, his eyes watered with the sadness of his travels, letting tears make their way down his face and onto his lap. The boy besides him stirred, as a raindrop hit their noses, obviously showing their shelter-consisting of a tree with thick leaves-wasn't working.

Sighing, he nudged the boy beside him into the land of living. As the boy in black beside him started grumbling and getting up, he spent a few more seconds watching how a raindrop slowly fell off the leaf beside him, dripping noisily onto the ground.

"Hey Shippo-_chan_, you getting your butt up or what?"

Scowling at the pathetic nickname he had gotten from his long hair, Shippo let his gaze rest on the boy again, getting up and running towards him.

"Coming Hiei, don't get your pants in a bunch!"

Taking one more look at the clearing they used to take, he quickly made his way to the moving Hiei and the moving group of bandits, somehow wondering if it could have turned out better.

* * *

"_Shippo-kun, do you like the rain?"_

_A Shippo a few years younger looked up at a raven-haired girl. She was wearing a modern schoolgirl uniform, which was uncommon in this era. Her hair was damp and down, and the rest of their group was nearby in the shelter of the hut Kaede gave them a few months back._

"_Yeah, but it damp! And wet! Do you like it Kagome-chan?"_

_The girl Kagome just laughed, her eyes twinkling with happiness. Cocking his head to the side, Shippo took another look at her, and then went back to watching the raindrops fall from the cloud-filled sky._

"_Well Shippo-kun, everything's got its' faults. You remember that, okay?"_

_He had a feeling those words had a second meaning._

"_My fault would be my strength, wouldn't it?"_

_He looked down. He didn't really expect an answer to that, it was just said in the heat of the moment. Bowing his head, his gaze rested on the rain-hit grass in front of him. When he thought about it, the grass had a nice scent…_

"_Shippo-kun, you're stronger than Inuyasha in many ways. We're not all perfect, so why bother?"_

_Startled, Shippo looked up at Kagome, who was looking at the God tree from their point of view. "What do you mean Kagome-chan?"_

_She sighed, running a hand through her hair. _

"_What I mean to say is that you have to take the bad with the good. You can't ever expect for someone to be completely perfect, that's like asking for World Peace. Despite all you want, it won't happen. You just live on with it."_

_Smiling, she looked down at Shippo. "Besides, strength is something you can earn! You don't need the power to crack the earth to finish a battle, though that would help. Using your brain can get you out of most things. So, you beat Inuyasha!"_

_Smiling, Shippo laughed at the joke just made. She joined in, only to stop a few seconds later. "Remember, all of us will accept each other, no matter what faults. Okay Shippo-kun?"_

_He smiled softly._

"_Okay Kagome-chan."

* * *

_

Brown eyes suddenly flew open, as Kagome jolted into a sitting position, sweat pouring off her brow and her eyes shaking. Slowly running a hand through her hair-a habit she had gotten, she looked up at the sky to see the ceiling of the fairly large cave they were seated in.

Suddenly remember that they were traveling at the moment, she let out a breath she never knew she had and got up, slowly and silently getting out of her cold sleeping bag, remembering at times how it would be warm and how Shippo would be curled up beside her, sleeping as peacefully as her.

She shook her head. That was in the past. And while she may had loved-No, she still loved-him, he had left, and Inuyasha wouldn't give them enough time to look for him. But still, she asked every person they came across if they had seen the little kitsune cub.

Tears gathered as she noticed that Inuyasha was missing. No doubt visiting Kikyo and reporting to her. A small pang of jealously rang throughout her body, but she ignored in and decided to move towards the front of the cave, and become sentry for another sleepless night. She had lost count on how many times Inuyasha had left them for Kikyo, leaving the group defenseless and vulnerable when asleep.

With another sigh, she got up and stared at the sky, the rain leaving for only a little moment. _Shippo…

* * *

_

"I bet I could make a bigger fire than you!"

"No way, I bet I could!"

"No! I bet I could burn both of you, because you two are annoying the hell out of us! Now shut up and clear the trail! We don't want people noticing us!"

Shippo and Hiei flinched as they bowed their heads, going back to their job of making sure there were no tracks. They had just been talking about their abilities, and they wanted to see how powerful they were at the moment. But the stupid bandits had to interfere and yell at them!

Huffing, Shippo brought the leaf on the ground, brushing it until it just looked like regular dirt with no marks on it. Hiei was doing the same thing beside him, and they quickly broke the leaves and dropped them on the ground, before running forward to catch up with the band.

It was quiet as they caught up, the two boys holding onto twigs. "Hey Shippo?"

"Yeah Hiei?"

"Can you tell a story about that group you talk about? The Inu-tachi?"

Shippo's eyes dulled with a few memories as he looked at the sky, not wanting Hiei to see his eyes. "Sure Hiei, after nightfall."

Nodding, Hiei went back to looking around.

Sighing, Shippo looked at the end of the band, wishing he were more powerful.

"Kagome-chan…"

* * *

Now, the crickets continued to chirp, as the fire in the center of the camp crackled with the new wood added by Shippo.

Sighing, he leaned back against the tree, Hiei and him the lookouts for the night. The moon had barely shown, leaving them in the comfort of the fire. Around the clearing, bandits slept peacefully.

"Hey Shippo, you gonna tell that story yet?"

Shippo sighed, making sure no other bandits were up, and making sure no stray youkai were after them yet.

"Sure. What part did I stop off at last time?"

It was quiet for a little while as both of them tried to remember, the fire flickering in the distance.

"I think it was the story about Tsubaki. When the girl Kagome was controlled by the shards."

Nodding, Shippo took a blade of grass from the ground and turned it into a whistle, blowing into it and making a sharp shrilling sound.

"Okay, here's what happened when they went after Tsubaki. Inuyasha was racing through the night, and Kagome was on his back. They come up to Miroku and Sango who can't get pass the barrier. Without warning, she loads an arrow and shoots it, breaking the barrier in one shot! And as the group continues…"

As Shippo continued weaving his tale and telling it to Hiei, he noticed how he was truly happy telling the stories of those he left behind, and another pang of guilt hit his heart.

* * *

**Mashin:** Well, that's the end of the first chapter! Not much happening here, except finding out some stuff. Here's a little re-cap if you were too tired/lazy to read the whole thing.

Shippo left the Inu-tachi, and joined up with a group of bandits, where his job is to cover their tracks. He shares the job with his only friend Hiei. Yes, it's the mini-version of the anti-social Hiei from Yu Yu Hakusho.

Leave a message if you like! Bye Bye!

-Mashin


	2. Chapter 2:Memories and Tears

**Mashin:** Thanks for the reviews! I currently have up to chapter 5 planned, so just review if you want an update!

**Disclaimer:** Inuyasha and Yu Yu Hakusho belong to their rightful owners, who are Yoshiro Togashi, and Rumiko Takahashi. The anime belongs to their rightful owners as well.

* * *

Once again, it was raining. Luckily, they had a better shelter, one that actually bothered to help keep them dry.

But it wouldn't help when you had to run out of a cave and gather food for the gang.

Slightly whimpering as another raindrop hit his tail, Shippo wrapped it around his waist to help protect the berries he had picked. There were some small containers to the side holding rainwater to boil, and there were some good herbs to get if any of them got injured.

Looking up from his task to scan his surroundings, he sighed and went back to collecting berries. Looks like Hiei's targets-a deer family-ran quite far. But that didn't mean Hiei couldn't catch them. Noo, the fire apparition just had to have super-speed as well. It reminded him of one of the characters Kagome-chan always talked about. What was the kid's name…? Dash? He couldn't remember, it was in an American film she told him about. Something called 'The Incredibles'…

Suddenly remembering that he had a job to do, Shippo accidentally popped a berry on the bush and looked around, noticing how nobody was accompanying him. Weird. Usually, there would be people following them to make sure they didn't run away. Looks like they trusted him….

Smiling, he quickly wiped his paws on his pants and went back to berry picking. Looks like he and Hiei were one step closer to their plan working….

* * *

Faster and faster, until everything around him became a blur of green and some brown. The deer were some distance away, desperately trying to escape with their lives. Well, it didn't matter, because he was faster, and they would die.

With a fairly loud battle cry, Hiei pounced upon 2 of the deer and quickly stabbed them in the throat with his overly large sword, jumping up again and stabbing the other 2 in the legs. Blood splattered around the clearing, as he quickly moved the bodies and stabbed them all in the heart.

Stepping back, he took a look at his handiwork. 2 adults and 2 fawns. Not bad. Well, not bad for a demon that didn't really want to be doing this in the first place.

Sighing, Hiei looked up at the sky, noticing how the rain started dying down. Good, it meant that he would be able to sleep peacefully tonight.

Brushing some damp bangs out of the way, he walked back to where the dead deer were, hauling a few over his shoulder and dragging one in his left hand. With a tug on the deer, he started his long trek back to the campsite.

* * *

By the time he had managed to get back to the cave clearing, the moon was faintly showing through the canvas of colors the sunset made. Now, if he were not a youkai forbidden-a child, at that, and that he wasn't being forced to make a gang's lunch, Hiei would gladly start saying some random poem crap that probably came out of his butt. But he is a forbidden child that's being forced to clean some deer.

Sighing, he continued to pull the deer and the fawns until he dropped them near the entrance of the cave, walking towards the bush Shippo was kneeling at. Weird, his hands weren't moving.

"Hey, Shippo-kun? Are you okay?"

Slowly creeping up towards the still figure, he let a small shaking hand touch the fabric on Shippo's shoulder. And with a slight twitch, the body fell to the ground with a big crash, the berries scattering everywhere.

Shocked, all Hiei could do was look at the still figure of his friend Shippo, and how his eyes were blank and distant looking, small tears forming at the edges of his eyes. Looking down, he noticed the blood splatters on the ground, slowly following the trail of trickling blood, until he noticed two deep, short cuts on the kitsune's wrist, one hand gripping a small sharp knife. His face was pale and calm looking, his mouth formed into an 'o'

Stepping back a bit, Hiei looked back at Shippo before rushing back to the cave, the blood of both the deer and his friend on his cloak.

"Somebody help! Shippo's Dead!"

* * *

It was dark. That's all he could describe it as. Dark, and he felt like he was floating in the air. Where, he didn't know. All he knew was that it was dark, he wasn't touching ground, it didn't feel like he was falling, and he felt calm. That, and the place was kinda warm.

_Am I dead?_

He didn't get enough time to get an answer, as a small, but bright light started floating towards him, like those pixie things in Kagome-Chan's fairy tales.

As soon as it was about an arm's length away from him, the light intensified, growing into a shape of a small child, before the light receded, engulfed into the little marble held in the hands of one very tiny human girl.

Slowly, the girl opened her eyes, showing brown, dull eyes. Her hair was a little messy, and she was wearing a pure white sundress.

"Um, who're you?" he asked.

The girl said nothing. Maybe he shouldn't have asked someone who looked like they had their soul sucked out.

After a few seconds of silence, the girl's small mouth moved.

"You're in your mind."

Shippo blinked. And blinked. There was no way his mind was this dark and empty.

"I don't think this is my mind."

Again, it was silent for a few seconds. The girl moved around, holding the white glowing marble with both hands. "It's the darkness in your mind. Not your whole mind, silly. Otherwise, there wouldn't be room for you. Or me."

He blinked again. This was getting a little confusing.

Obviously, he must have shown it, because the girl started to laugh. "Oh, don't worry. You're just here until your wrists heal up."

He blinked. "My wrists are injured?"

She looked at him confused. "Do you have amnesia? You slit your wrists picking berries, remember?"

All of a sudden, a rush of images ran through his brain, slight confusing him and leaving him confounded.

* * *

_Finished with picking the berries, Shippo slowly plucked a fairly large fresh leaf from the bush and laid all the berries on it, somehow not letting one hit the dirt below.__Sighing, he looked at the small knife that was currently being held loosely in his left hand, noticing how the raindrops landed on the surface, slowly trailing off the metal until it hit the damp ground under him._

_One raindrop fell to the ground, and he saw the face of his laughing friend Kagome, as she smiled and raced around in the rain._

_Another fell and he saw the face of Sango, playing with Kirara in the safety of the Goshiboku tree near the well. _

_Once more, a raindrop fell to his feet, and he saw Miroku laughing at a spluttering wet Kagome-chan._

_And one more fell, before he saw Inuyasha smiling from the safety of Kaede's hut, the smell of stew wafting through the dew-scented air._

_More raindrops fell onto his feet, but these were different. They were…warm._

_Instantly reaching for his eyes, he felt the moisture and trails of salty water left by the tears on his foot. Reaching with one hand to wipe them, he stopped after a while after he realized they wouldn't stop so easily._

"_I miss them…I wanna go back…"_

_But going back wasn't an option for him anymore. He didn't want to disgrace them again, not with the fact that he could barely help at all. A burden._

_That was all he was, wherever he went. A burden. Nothing more, nothing less. A useless burden._

_And as if a bucket of water had been dumped onto him, he stared at the knife for a while, contemplating whether he should or not._

_And slowly, but deeply, he sliced open his right wrist, the left one receiving the same treatment._

'_Let me sleep…'_

_His eyes slowly closed shut, slightly opening before the blood came out faster._

'_Let me rest…'_

_Somewhere above him, a bat youkai flew across the clearing, as Shippo's stiff body fell to the ground, blood splattering and soaking all his belongings._

'_Let me die…'

* * *

_

Blinking so his eyes would come into focus, Shippo fell to his knees, his legs shaking with the energy it took to receive the memories.

"I tried to kill myself?"

The girl clicked her tongue; making the loudest noise in the space they were in. "Well, you actually succeeded."

Hearing tears fall, the girl looked down and saw the kneeling kitsune silently crying, the tears dropping in front of him. Waving her arms, she looked around before floating down beside him and rubbing his back, hearing and feeling every time his shoulders shook from another sob, and hearing how his nose sniffled when he tried to suppress the tear drops.

"Hey, hey, it's okay! That's why you're in your mind, not in Renkai being judged at the moment!"

And immedietly, right before his eyes, the girl's hair tied up into a high blue-haired ponytail, she grew into that of a teenager wearing a bright pink Kimono, and her eyes brightened up until she looked totally different from the girl he had first seen.

Shippo was left gaping at the girl. "Wha-but…how?"

Laughing, the teenager pulled back a lock of hair in the way of her eyesight, moving her hand until a brown oar appeared. "I had to take on an appearance that you were familiar with, so I didn't scare you. It's not easy, you know, to have people screaming 'bloody murder' at you."

Shippo started giggling, trying pathetically to hide it behind his hand. He didn't know why, but she had the ability to make him laugh. Maybe it was because of her accent…

Suddenly remembering why she was here, the girl bowed. "Whoops, sorry, forgot to introduce myself. Name's Botan, a…ferry-girl of Renkai. Now, you're going to be staying here until you're fine."

Stopping his giggles, Shippo looked at Botan. "Wha? You mean until my wrists heal? And by ferry-girl, do you mean shinigami?"

Botan looked at Shippo with a look in her eyes. "How do you know that?"

"I heard about you guys from my father. He'd always talk about you people, and how he saw you."

Botan was silent, trying to remember anything.

"Oh, him! I remember, he was a good fellow to talk to. But that's not why I'm here."

"It isn't?"

"No, it isn't. I'm here, because of this wound."

Botan reached up and softly poked him in the chest, where his heart was.

Now Shippo was downright confused. Weren't his wrists injured? Did he stab himself in the heart or something?

"I thought it was my wrists."

That earned him a giggle from Botan.

"Oh, there are other wounds than physical ones. Don't you know about emotional wounds?"

It was silent.

She shook her head, waving her hand. "Never mind. Anyways, I heard you had some problems, and that's why you ended up in the bandit group."

Shippo's eyes dulled, his head bowed once more as he stared at his feet. "I wasn't strong enough."

"That it? C'mon Shippo, that can't be all."

Shippo shook his head. "No! It's just… I want to be strong, so I can protect the others. I'm older that the humans in our –past- group, but I'm weaker! It doesn't make sense! I thought I was supposed to be strong, like 'Tou-san! I thought I was supposed to protect people!"

He was crying now, he could feel the tears drop. They fell in big splatters, hitting the fabric of his clothing and the fur on his legs. He was sure his face was puffy and red now.

"But what good am I, if I can't even destroy a weak lizard demon Kagome-chan could kill with her foot? How can I protect if I'm scared of my own shadow?! It doesn't make sense! I want to be strong, to protect people! I want to be like 'Tou-san!"

Slowly, the shouts died out into soft sobs and shaking of the shoulders, Botan in front of him with her arms wrapped around his shaking figure.

"Shh, shh, don't worry…"

"How can I not worry? I want to be able to protect someone, not run away and cower in fear!"

It was silent for a moment again, as Shippo slowly stopped crying. Slowly and gently, Botan released him from her grip, kneeling in front of him as she used her left hand to grasp his chin, making him stare into her eyes.

"Shippo-kun, I don't know what I can do, but I can try and get you some help when your wrists heal, so you can train. I'll try and get a kitsune to help you train. Along with your friend Hiei. Is that okay with you?"

Shippo slowly nodded, letting the information sink in. So someone was willing to help him?

"Why? Were you ordered to do this, because I won't really accept it then."

Botan softly sighed, hugging him once more. It reminded him of how Kagome would hug him whenever he had nightmares.

"Shippo-kun, nobody in Renkai even knows I'm here."

"So how did you find me?"

Botan softly smiled.

"I heard a soul crying for help."

* * *

It was nighttime, and Hiei was currently curled up around a separate fire from the huge one to his left. Shippo's still body laid to his right, and right now, he was trying not to choke on the bones of a cooked deer, left for him and Shippo when he woke up.

Sighing, he put his part of the meat down, staring at Shippo's body. They had just wrapped up the wrists, and were leaving the two in a small village a little distance away in a few weeks, when Shippo woke up. While it meant that they would finally leave, it also meant they were fresh food for youkai-eating youkai.

Muttering curses under his breath, he went back to eating his meat, occasionally looking at the fire sometimes, and how the flames danced their enticing dance.

"Shippo, why'd you try to kill yourself?"

* * *

Meanwhile, on another part of Japan, the rest of the Inu-tachi was resting in Kaede's hut, the small fire lit and the group holding onto their bowls of soup.

Kagome Higurashi was silently sipping hers', her thoughts focused on a small kitsune kit that had left them.

Sighing, he excused herself and walked outside, staring up at the rain-filled sky. It was times like this she wished Shippo was there the most, so she could take care of him if he ever got wet.

She missed him. It had been a month already, and she was half-tempted to just leave Inuyasha and find Shippo on her own. But she would have no protection, so she stayed with the group, leaving a few times in the night to continue searching.

It was weird though: The month was peaceful. Not even Naraku was trying anything.

Deciding not the jinx it, she clasped her hands in a praying position and closed her eyes, her head facing the sky where drops of rain hit her face, drenching her tired figure. Somewhere behind her, she could hear Sango telling her to get out of the rain.

And with one last look at the sky, she turned on her heel and walked off.

_Shippo-kun…

* * *

_

Meanwhile, at the bandit camp, it was silent. Everyone had gone to sleep, thinking nothing would fight them.

The Inu-tachi was sleeping peacefully, Kagome's eyelids wet with tears.

Nobody noticed how a small, pink ball of light floated out of Kagome, nor did they see it float out the door into the rain, disappearing after it left the village.

At the bandit camp, nobody noticed the pink ball that appeared out of nowhere, floating towards Shippo and engulfing him in its' light.

And certainly nobody noticed how Shippo's eyes slowly opened, showing dull green eyes, before closing again and letting the pink glow over-take him.

* * *

**Mashin:** Done this one! Leave a review and tell me what you think!

Up next: The explanation on the pink glowing ball, and Shippo's new mentor.


	3. Chapter 3:Marbles

**Mashin:** Heyas! Love the reviews I got from previous chapters! And since I'm too lazy to respond to them one by one, I'll just post the replies here:

_**Disneyrulz23:**_ Thankies! First reviewer! I love reviews. –Gasps- I actually made a new plot?

_**Honeypots:**_ Thank you for the review! Greatly appreciated! Glad you find it interesting!

_**Bmangaka:**_ Thanks for the first review for chapter 2 and the opinion! (Not telling, keeping it a secret. I love secrets.)

_**Kagome Yuki Niwa:**_ Thank you for the review and opinion! As for the pairing, it's kinda…undecided at the moment…(Not sure whether to make a Kag/Youko or Kag/Kuronue or something else).. So I think I'll let you guys vote in the future. As for when Youko's coming up, I think this chapter will tell you…

I do plan on keeping plot things secret, okay?

Great, now on with the story!

* * *

She could hear them, practically feel them. She heard their soft groans from the weight of the souls they carried.

Keeping still, she could hear Inuyasha grunting and slowly getting up from his place at the entrance of the hut, using his sword to help him up and get to Kikyo.

She waited a few minutes after he left, sure he was gone. Slowly getting up-without trying to get the fabric of the sleeping bag to make a lot of noise-, she slowly walked to the entrance of the hut, carrying her bow and arrows. With a sigh, she gently sat down and waited for the sun to rise, positive that Inuyasha would come back at the break of dawn.

_Inuyasha…what's more important to you..? Kikyo or us?

* * *

_

Meanwhile, somewhere in Inuyasha's forest, Kikyou stood against a giant tree, hearing the Soul collectors come with fresh souls. Sighing, she looked up to the sky and saw them coming closer.

With an intake of breath, the souls entered her clay body, her piece of Kagome's soul absorbing them on contact. She stayed that way, facing the sky with her hands wide open, for a while. Soon, the soul collectors hung back, Kikyo done with collecting the souls.

Sighing once more, she faced the clearing in front of her, sure that Inuyasha was coming soon. He cared for her too much.

She gently brushed a hand over her –non- beating heart. Despite that she needed souls to survive, she hated it. She was a miko Dammit; she was supposed to help people and souls, not eat them!

But it seemed that Mistress Fate wasn't kind to her. She needed to betray the miko ways and take souls to live. Such was the pain of being reborn from ashes made from a witch. She hated it. And hated herself even more for hating, something a miko shouldn't really do.

But she had no choice. It was kill-or-be-killed thing in her time period. She needed to survive, or something would kill her. Again, her hand touched her heart. It felt like she had already been killed, by emotions and jealousy.

Taking in a deep breath, she sat in a meditative state, reaching out with her aura to check in on Kaede's village. No matter where she was, she always checked to make sure her sister's village was safe, checking the souls of each person in there.

Upon reaching the hut where the rest of the Inu-tachi was located, her eyes widened and she lost her meditative state, quickly getting up and using her soul collectors to check for her.

What had happened when she was gone? She could feel her part of the shared soul weakening, but the miko's-Kagome's- was worse!

She looked through the eyes of one of the collectors, noticing Kagome's slowly-but dying soul.

Chunks shaped like small marbles were gone, leaving her soul filled with holes and injured. Despite it being bright pink, she noticed some black in there, probably her emotions.

Seeing a movement to her right, the soul collector's head snapped instantly, watching a bright pink ball-part of Kagome's soul-float out the door and disappear.

Sighing, Kikyou let go of the collector's eyes, before sensing the ball of soul somewhere 3 villages to the north, and she instantly took control of the collector that was near there, using it to watch.

It was a cave of bandits, two children separated from them. One was a black pyro-probably a hybrid if his aura had anything to say- and one a small red kitsune. Somehow, the kit looked familiar.

The ball of soul slowly floated to the kitsune, engulfing him in its light and slowly disappearing, the boy's body glowing bright pink once and then returning to normal.

It clicked. This was Kagome's companion, the kitsune they always traveled with. Inuyasha had just said the kit was visiting relatives.

Her eyes narrowed at her realization, releasing control of the soul collector just as Inuyasha burst into the clearing.

"Kikyou-"

"Not right now Inuyasha. I need to tell you something. It's about Kagome and the kitsune, Shippo."

"What about them?"

"It's important, unless you want Kagome and me dead, with our souls ceasing the exist."

* * *

Again, Shippo was in the darkness in his mind. Sitting quietly, he moved his legs so they wouldn't fall asleep.

He guessed it would be around next day afternoon if he was awake, and Botan had left a few hours ago, leaving him lonely and unable to look around, since he didn't know where he even was.

Sighing, he got up stretching a little as he craned his neck to look above him. Yes, nothing but darkness, and black.

Groaning at the thought of waiting another hours without anything, he fell on his butt ungracefully. "Dangit, I wish there were some crayons and paper around here. Maybe I wouldn't be so bored…"

Seeing a flash of light from the corner or his eyes, he quickly turned around and tried to get into a defensive position, but he just ended up standing like an idiot, looking at a pile of paper with a box of crayons beside it.

Continuing to stare at the paper like it was the weirdest thing he had seen in his life, Shippo slowly got out of his trance, taking little steps until he felt the paper and crayons, holding them in his small hands.

"Wow…that was awesome!"

And quickly, he sat down and got to drawing.

* * *

It was nightfall when Hiei and Shippo's body were kicked out of the group, and now the pyro of the group was seriously ticked off.

The bandits had left them at an abandoned village, where the scent of death still hung over it. Immedietly leaving the village because of the smell of death and blood, he had found a small hut on the outskirts, and dragged Shippo in with him.

Now he sat in front of a fire, and it was raining outside. Joy. At least it would dampen the smell a little.

Sighing, he pulled out some leftover meat he had found, poking a stick through it and re-heating it on the fire. He could have just eaten it like that thing Shippo called it-was it jerky? -, But he wanted some warm food that was easy to eat at the moment.

Sighing, he faced the entrance, where he could hear the rain pounding against their weak shelter.

_What have I gotten myself into?

* * *

_

Meanwhile, inside Shippo's mind, Botan had finally appeared, and a kitsune was right behind her. From what Shippo could see-with him trying to adjust his eyes to the bright colors Botan was wearing; the kitsune was silver, with nine tails.

"Hi Shippo-kun, I'm back!"

Shippo dropped the papers and crayons gently on the…ground, and raced towards Botan, jumping into her arms at the last second and barely missing the kitsune. "Botan! You're back! It's been so boring!"

Giggling, she gently set Shippo down in front of the silver kitsune 'friend' she had found, the kitsune immedietly sniffing Shippo's hair. "Heh, sorry Shippo. Hey, where did the crayon and paper come from?"

Shippo shrugged his shoulders, petting the kitsune's soft fur. "Dunno. They just appeared when I said 'I wish'."

Shrugging her shoulders back, Botan looked at the kitsune. "Well, anyways, no matter. I want to introduce you to…a friend of mine. His name is Youko Kurama, and he's a silver kitsune. I don't know why he's in his kitsune form right now, though."

Shippo smiled, stopping for a moment to bow before going back to petting Youko, looking up at Botan. "I think it's because some kinds of kitsunes are stronger while in animal form. For others, it's the opposite. Then there's those that aren't really affected by what form they're in. It depends, I guess."

Botan nodded her head. "Okay then. Youko-san, would you like to stay in this form or go back to your humanoid form?"

The fox shook it's head, before being engulfed by another blinding white light. As soon as said light receded, it left a very gorgeous male kitsune in its place.

Youko was wearing a white tunic, with thin, white slippers on. From Shippo's view, he was very muscled, and his long silver hair reached mid-back. He hadn't opened his eyes yet, so Shippo didn't know his eye color, but he was betting it was gold. There were two furry ears on top of his head, and a silky tail as well.

Somehow, Shippo thought that Kagome would be reaching up for Youko's ears at this point. They looked too furry.

Smiling-as well as showing a fang, Youko opened his eyes. Yes, golden eyes.

"Ah, that feels better. And you're right about that one Shippo, I'm stronger in animal form. Probably because I can connect to the plants better in that way."

Shippo's eyes brightened. "Wow! So you can control plants! Wait, how are you going to be my mentor then? I'm a fire kitsune."

Youko just smiled, crouching down so he came face to face with Shippo's small body. "I may be a plant kitsune, but I know a lot about other types. There's no harm in that, now is there?"

Shippo just smiled. "Cool! So you can teach me! This is awesome! I can learn two elements then!"

Stopping in his bouncing, he faced Youko. "Well, that's if you let me learn about plants…or anything else, for that matter."

Youko looked down at Shippo. He couldn't tell that this was the same kitsune Botan had told him that tried to slit his wrists. He seemed too…happy to try that. Oh well, maybe something happened.

He chuckled. "I wouldn't mind, as long as you're a good student and you remember things."

Smiling, Shippo leaped towards Botan, leaping onto her shoulder and bouncing lightly. "Did you hear that Botan? He's gonna train me in more than what you planned!"

All of a sudden, he stopped and looked towards the pile of paper and crayons, noticing small, pink marbles around them, softly glowing in the same color of light.

Getting off of Botan, Shippo slowly walked towards the paper, picking up one of the marbles that rolled towards his feet.

* * *

_It was a rush of activity in the village, everyone crowding around Kaede's hut, some crying, and some just pacing outside the building._

_Inside, 3 people-Inuyasha, Kagome, and Miroku-were waiting patiently for Kaede to finish treating Sango's wounds. Well, by patient, we mean Inuyasha was swearing, Kagome was trying to help Kaede without getting in the way, and Miroku was trying to calm himself down from doing something stupid._

_Shippo's eyes widened as he looked to beside Kagome, where a few months younger self of him was sitting, tears at the ends of his eyes._

'_What the hell?! Why can I see myself?'_

_Hearing movement to his right, he turned his head to see Kaede covering Sango with a blanket and putting a bowl of cold water near her head._

"_Inuyasha, please stop ye yelling and calm down. Sango-san will be fine, as long as she gets some rest and some good food. The poison is not in her system anymore."_

_Letting out a breath he didn't have, Miroku smiled, loosening his grip on his staff. "Thank you, Kaede-san. I don't know what we would have done without you to help us."_

_Kaede shook her head, smiling her usual heart-warming smile, before going back to the pot and getting some stew for all of them. "Nay, I could not have done it without Kagome-sama's medicine from the future."_

_Said girl blushed and rubbed her head. "No, no. Kaede-san, you did most of the work!"_

_Amazed, the younger Shippo looked at Kagome and Kaede. "You guys are awesome!"_

_The two mikos responded with their smiles and a bowl of stew.

* * *

_

Shippo gasped as he pulled back, dropping the marble to his feet. Around him, the marbles came to life, floating up in the air and joining together.

They spiraled higher and higher, until they stopped in a circle around the three people in the dark, and shot straight down, illuminating the place with the memories inside them.

Just before Youko covered Shippo's eyes from the light, he could have sworn he saw Kagome in the light, reaching out towards him with her smile and warm hands.

But it was soon forgotten as he was covered with silver hair and a silver tail.

* * *

As the light started to recede, Youko took the chance to look around at the memory holding marbles.

They seemed to hold a different memory, and all involved the same group of travelers in them.

One was a hanyou in red clothing, with…cat ears? Youko shook his head. No, they had to be dog-ears; Cat ears were a little different. The hanyou had golden eyes-similar to his-and had a ragged, rusty old swords strapped to his waist. Weird. Why would he have a rusty sword? Was there something about it?

Upon looking at the second memory, Youko found his answer. Reaching out and touching the marble, he found himself swirling in a mass of white fog, nothing visible through it. But slowly, the fog lifted, leaving colors and shapes to sharpen before he could find out anything.

---

_The hanyou looked up at the large lizard demon, its body crouched to attack, and slime fall from its mouth, hitting the ground and dissolving it. Great, an acid-making lizard youkai._

"_Inuyasha! The shard's in its mouth!" A young girl yelled. Twisting his head to get a better look at her, he noticed that the girl was aiming her arrow right for him!_

_Hissing, he went to attack the girl and at least destroy her bow, but as soon as he lunged at her neck, his claws went through her!_

_Puzzled, he stopped and walked back, watching the scene: The girl trying to shoot the lizard without hitting the hanyou, and the hanyou Inuyasha trying to behead the lizard._

_He looked at his claws, seeing nothing on him. Did this mean he was invisible, or not really there?_

_Hearing a shout behind him, he turned his head to see the girl shoot the arrow and purify the demon, indicating she was a miko. But what miko wore clothes like that? He could see her thighs, for God's sake!_

_The miko just walked towards the shard in the lizard's tongue, as everything around him faded to nothing, and leaving him with more questions than he had before._

_---_

Gasping, Youko pulled back from that marble, holding the second one in his palm. Spreading his aura, he found the marble to be a piece of a soul, holding the memories that part of the soul was responsible for.

He could hear Botan and Shippo starting to open their eyes, he had only one last chance to look at the marble in his hands.

Sighing, he focused his aura on the soul-marble, once again being engulfed in the white fog.

* * *

_The traveling group-One hanyou by the name Inuyasha, one lecherous monk, one fiery taijiya, one indecent-clothed miko, and one mini-version of Shippo-were settled in a clearing, eating a meal under the sakura trees. In the distance, a small wooden well was seen, but the group didn't seem to notice it._

_Sighing, the miko looked up at the trees, where Inuyasha was. "Inuyasha, are you sure you don't want to come down here and eat with us? There's still plenty of ramen left."_

_Shaking his head, Inuyasha just ate his share of the ramen. "Nah, I like high places."_

_Rolling her eyes, the girl went back to eating. "So does your ego."_

_"Hey!"_

_"Just kidding Inuyasha. Geez, lighten up."_

_The rest of the group smiled. Yup, nothing bad happening._

_It was silent, the only noise being people eating, with Shippo and a two-tailed neko sleeping away on a corner of the mat under them._

_"Hey Miroku, can you play an instrument?"_

_The monk-now known as Miroku-nodded. "I can, Kagome-san. What do you have in mind?"_

_"Nothing really, I just wanted to know."_

_Smiling, the tajiya pulled out a lute from behind her. "Well, I just so happened to bring a lute with me. Would you care to play for us, Miroku?"_

_Laughing, Miroku handed a wooden flute to the miko-Kagome, receiving the lute in return. "Thank you Sango dear, I don't know what I could have done without you."_

_Laughing, the group all started playing a soft tune, with Miroku and Kagome playing their instruments, Sango humming, and Inuyasha adding noise with his sword and claws._

_All was well with the Inu-tachi._

_---_

Gasping, Youko pulled out of the memory, just as Shippo and Botan opened their eyes, all three of them facing a transparent-pink figure.

It was woman. Well, to be exact, the girl Kagome from all the memories. She was still in the garments he saw her in before, and her hair was down and her eyes seemed to radiate happiness and…regret.

Stunned, Shippo walked towards the figure with shaking legs, his arms reaching out towards the woman's hands. "…Kagome-chan?"

Smiling once more, the figure reached farther with her hands. "Shippo-kun."

Tears dropped to the ground as Shippo stopped in front of Kagome, their hands unable to meet. Slowly, Kagome began to disappear, starting with her hands, her fingers so close to holding Shippo's tiny ones.

No! Why could he reach them? He was so close, damn it! He didn't want to lose her again!

Shippo started to panic, jumping up and reaching for the sadly smiling girl. "No! Kagome-chan! Kagome-chan!"

The girl slowly shook her head, closing her tear-filled eyes closed. "Not yet Shippo-kun. Not yet."

And with that, the girl was gone, leaving a crying Shippo standing in front of nothing, as the marbles fell to the ground and dulled, turning into white marbles.

On his knees, Shippo held his face in his hands, remembering how close they were to Kagome's. "No…Kagome-chan…Kagome-chan…"

Youko's eyes closed shut, his face towards the side, as he kneeled down and embraced the shaking Kitsune in his arms, holding him close as he showed compassion and sadness, just for this kitsune.

"Is that why you tried to kill yourself?"

It took him a while for him to get his answer, which just ended up in a shaking nod of Shippo's head.

"I want to be with them again…but I can't…I'm too weak…" His voice sounded so broken, and it was then that Youko realized the true burden Shippo held at such a young age.

Youko's eyes widened, before halfway closing, as his grip on Shippo's shoulders tightened.

"Then, honorable Shippo, I will teach you and train you, so that one day, you can become more stronger than you ever imagined, and you can meet them again."

It was silent once more, with Shippo's sobs dying down.

"Thank you…"

* * *

At the hut, Kagome's eyes snapped open and widened, as she pushed herself off the wall of the hut and held onto her heart, panting hard as she tried to re-gain her lost senses.

She had dreamed that she was in darkness, and all of a sudden, Shippo-kun, a silver kitsune, and a blue-haired girl in a pink kimono appeared in front of her. She had tried reaching for Shippo, but she couldn't, and ended up spiraling into the darkness again, pink marbles falling from the sky.

She held her beating heart again, slowly walking towards the forest. "Shippo-kun…did you feel that too? Did you see that?"

She sighed, letting her tears come free from their prison, as she stopped in front of a river.

"Shippo-kun…"

* * *

**Mashin:** That's the end of this chapter! Leave a review if you please!

And just to say, I love you guys –readers and reviewers from all my stories- for taking the time to read my stories! Makes me happy.

**Shippo:** She's just happy because she managed to get the chapter to what she wanted. She says it was better than her last one.

**Mashin:** Shippo, shut up right now and I'll give you a lollipop.

**Shippo:** Candy!

**Mashin:** Anyways, next chapter will have more Hiei in it, and Hiei will be introduced to Youko Kurama…just not in Shippo's mind. By the way, if you see any errors with things, please review and tell me there, or just message me!

See ya!

-Mashin.


	4. Chapter 4: Dreams

**Mashin: **Heyo! It's another chapter.

Honorifics will be taken out of this chapter, seeing as it was written on a school computer. And I don't like explaining to the staff why there's Japanese words they don't understand on the damn Microsoft.

* * *

"_Mommy? Mommy, where are you?"_

"_Mommy?"_

"_Mommy…?"_

"_MOMMY!"_

* * *

Botan's blue eyes snapped open in an instant, widening as her pupils dilated. Slowly, she looked around to find herself still inside the darkness of Shippo's mind, said kitsune napping somewhere a few meters from him, Youko beside him patting the auburn kit's head.

Sighing, her tiny hands held onto the opening of her kimono, as if to try and get her beating heart to calm down. Her eyes closed, recalling the horrible nightmare still playing inside her head.

--

_The little girl had skipped into her house, not noticing the small bloodstains on the walls, or how the rooms seemed dead silent. Oblivious to all this, the girl had looked around the house calling for her mother._

"_Mommy? Mommy, where are you?"_

_--_

Sighing, Botan brushed a hand through her locks of blue hair, and glanced around once more. Nope, Youko was still paying attention to Shippo. Subconsciously, she wondered how old Shippo was in youkai years.

"Nightmare, Botan?"

Whipping her head quickly, her pink eyes laid on Youko, who was still sitting besides the snoring Shippo, staring at her with piercing golden eyes.

--

_After a while, the girl had gotten worried, unknown that there was someone behind her, holding a rather large and bloody machete._

_The girl opened the doors to all the rooms, except for her mothers', and the figure still continued to shadow her._

"_Mommy?"_

_Botan merely watched from the sidelines sadly as the girl hard a creak, and turned around. She already knew what was going to happen, it was written in the girl's book. Still, the girl saw the shadowed figure; not knowing it was one of the wanted criminals in Japan._

"_Mommy…?"_

_--_

She let out a breath, continuously running a hand through her bangs.

"Y-yeah…I guess."

Silence. She twitched as he continued to stare at her for another good 4 seconds, and then went back to staring into nothing.

"…Is it hard, to be a ferry girl?"

Sighing, Botan looked down at her lap, her left hand twirling a lock of hair that came out of her ponytail. "Yeah…I guess…" She sounded like a broken record, repeating it while trying to forget that one soul retrieval.

"Are you used to death?"

--

_Clenching her eyes shut and turning her head, Botan stood off to the side as the killer raised the machete. She heard everything; heard the sound of the machete cutting through the air, the sound of something sharp piercing skin, the sound of blood spilling out through major wounds, that would eventually kill an innocent little girl, no older than 5._

"_MOMMY!"_

_All because she was looking for her mother._

_--_

A shake of the head. "No…not yet."

"…I don't think you should be. I don't' think any of us should be."

Botan's head snapped up, and she looked at Youko again. Now, the silver kitsune was standing up, facing the darkness as Shippo curled himself into a ball below him.

"If people like you got used to Death, there really wouldn't be much innocence in the world, would there? Even some mikos are tainting themselves, so it shows there isn't much hope for the world now…I guess."

Softly giving a bittersweet smile, Youko leaned down to pet Shippo's head. "I guess the only ones truly pure now are children, and even some are loosing their innocence too early, being trained to kill without mercy."

Botan smiled, looking up at the sky. Well, if you could call it a sky, it was still darkness above. "What would it be liked…if it were another world? If everything changed? Would adults be happy, children running free, youkai and humans living peacefully? What would it be like…?"

Youko shook his head, his body silently disappearing. "We should not wish so. It will never happen."

"I guess."

It was silent again, Youko's form becoming more transparent.

"Youko?"

"Hm?"

"We'll see if we can bring Kuronue back, we haven't seen his soul in Renkai yet. There's a chance he's alive."

The thief gave one more smile before disappearing. "Yeah, maybe…"

* * *

Something was coming. And fast.

With a shock, Hiei woke up in a flash, swiftly drawing his sword out in front of him and crouching down in front of Shippo's prone body.

It took him another few seconds to realize that there was a silver kitsune looking down on them, two feet from him with a rose in his hand.

No sound came from the duo, as the forest animals around continued to move around.

Lowering his gaze to the ground, Hiei quietly sheathed his sword and sat crossed-legged besides Shippo, never letting his gaze look up.

The kitsune stood there for a while, before he crouched down and reverted his rose into a seed.

"Youkai, why do you sheath your sword and retreat?"

Snorting, Hiei perched an elbow on one of his knees, letting his chin rest on his hand.

"And you expect me to win against _the_ Youko Kurama? As if."

Youko smirked. Sitting down in front of the two children, he idly twirled the seed in his hands. "You're smart for someone your age, smarter than some rogue youkai here. But why are you and Shippo out here in the open forest, with barely any protection?"

Ruby eyes widened as Hiei's head snapped up to face Youko, glaring at him as his hand rested on the hilt of his sword.

"How the hell do you know Shippo's name?"

* * *

"Kagome, are you sure there's a jewel shard this way?"

"I'm positive Sango. Either that, or there's something with a lot of power nearby."

The Inu-tachi continued to trudge along the dirt path, locals passing by them and staring at the odd group. It wasn't everyday you saw a hanyou with ears, a monk with a red handprint, a tajiya with a giant boomerang, or a miko in weird clothing.

"I hate this. Why couldn't we just go through the forest? The damn villager's stares are starting to piss me off."

"Inuyasha, did it ever occur to you that some people can't just as high as you, and the fact that Kirara is tired?"

"…."

Kagome sighed as she continued to walk, this time at the edge of the road, where grass and greenery met dirt road filled with footsteps.

Silence consumed the group once more as they eventually started walking in the forest, the dense greenery causing all the noises to echo. Now the group was more on-guard, with every sound causing someone's eyes to move quickly to the source.

Sighing, Kagome took a left, too lost in her thoughts to see that her group had gone right, towards a river. While she was walking straight into a clearing filled with blood-splattered bamboo.

* * *

In a flurry, Botan continued to throw the files out of the cabinets, hitting passing people, as her gaze remained focused on the top of the files.

"Not here, not here. Definitely not that one…"

Sighing and stopping for a second, she used her right hand to massage her left wrist, which was hurting painfully at the moment.

"Darn it…Now where is that file…"

Sighing, she went back to throwing files just as Koenma came in.

"Botan, what are you-"

"AHA! GOT IT!"

Poor Koenma was ran over by an enthusiastic Botan as she raced out of the stuffy room, muttering something along the lines of 'Youko's gonna love this'.

Groaning, the demigod clutched onto his head and slowly got off the ground, watchful of his protesting back.

"Ugh…what's Botan doing now…?"

--

Racing down the halls of the palace, Botan's feet made loud noises across the place as she continued to race for her life, clutching onto a single file in her arms.

"Hah…. Youko…. hah…. Better thank me for this…"

As she continued to run with a smile on her face, she didn't notice a slip of paper fall out of the file and onto the ground, laying there as Botan got farther and farther.

Kuronue, Bat youkai:

_Occupation: Thief, and partner to Youko Kurama_

_Known Family: N/A_

_Status: Living._

Botan's mind was wandering, as she quickly got on her oar, doing a small flip before flying down past the clouds.

"This is wonderful news! It's perfect!"

_Kuronue's alive! There's still a chance!_

_He's alive!_

* * *

_He's alive!_

Kagome looked up in the clouds for a second, her head craning as far as it could, as she watched in awe a girl in a pink kimono fly across the sky with an oar.

"What the-"

Looking around her, she realized that she was alone. Alone, in a forest filled with who-knows-what.

Okay, now she was scared.

"Geez, of all the times to get separated from the others…"

Shivering, she took a small step forward, noting the blood on the bamboo.

"Blood…?"

Her eyes widened as she heard a crack nearby, her head swiveling in all directions, trying to pinpoint the source.

Get a hold of yourself Kagome, there's nothing there. It's probably some rabbit or something…

Biting her lip, she turned left and continued to follow the bamboo. It continued the block the sunlight from her view, leaving her with the feeling of fright and nervousness.

"There's nothing there…the blood is fake… There's nothing there…"

She turned a corner again, as the blood splatters got bigger and thicker.

"Don't worry, there's nothing…"

She stopped mid-sentence as she looked in front of her, a bloodied body lying against a patch of bamboo. The body continued to drop blood from its bat like wings, making a sound whenever it hit the leaves below. The eyes were closed, shadowed by the torn hat and mattered hair.

Plip. Plip.

A clawed finger twitched.

Kagome screamed.

* * *

**Mashin:** Okay, so I ended really badly! Sorry 'bout all this, I haven't had a good time to type for a while, with the ending of our play production and our trip to Tofino. –sighs-

Sorry about the content in this chapter, I've tried re-writing the thing 4 times! You wanna know when I thought of this? When I was walking off-stage. Shot into my head, I screamed, and fell down the stairs. Thank god it was only rehearsal. And that was what, a month ago? I'm sad.

**Review Responses:**

**Sunoiunita:** -backs away from the squealing girl- Err, did Joyce give you sugar? -Shakes head- Anyways, thanks for reviewin'!

**Disneyrulz23:** -hug- Thank youz!

**Kagome Yuki Niwa: **I made you happy? Yayz!

Reviews are appreciated, but not necessary. I promise to make it up to you guys for this short chapter!


	5. Chapter 5:Help

**Mashin:** HOLY HELL I LOVE YOU GUYS. 19 reviews. Not that it seems like alot, but it is to me. Even if it's just two words or something, reviews make my day and remind me that people bother to read my stuff, so I should update.

Blame the delay on Gaia. I spend too much time there. xO

P.S: OOCness. Lots and lots of it. Expect more from any of my stories.

**Disclaimer:** I own freakin' nothing.

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

His dreams continued to be tormented by her smiling face. The way she would smile at anyone in the group, and anyone around them.

_: Another smile graced her face as she talked with Sango, oblivious to the way she made their eyes soften with short-joy. :_

He missed her.

_: She gently brushed the auburn bangs until they were tangle-free, leaving them to cover his eyes as he slept peacefully in her lap. :_

Groaning, Shippo laid a tired hand on his forehead as his heavy eyelids finally decided to open, and he immedietly found his eyes covered by bushy auburn hair.

"What the-"

Patting the hair, he continued to follow the strands until they ended at the top of his head. He giggled, letting one of his hands fall to the side. "Silly me, it was just my hair."

_: She reached for his hands, and one by one, her hands started to disappear, soon only leaving her painful smile. :_

Sighing, he groggily sat up and hunched over once more, his small paws brushing out the sleep in his eyes. "Mmm, where's Kagome-"

_: Her smile faded. :_

He stopped in mid-sentence, looking around the vast space around him. Immedietly, his mood took a deep dive down.

_Right. Kagome's not here. Nobody's here._

"It's just me..."

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

Kuronue woke up to sunlight filtering through the bamboo shoots around him, blinding him. Letting out a small growl, he brought two hands up to cover his eyes for a while, until he could tolerate the light around him.

The sound of bamboo breaking got his clawed hand twitching. Oh, how he'd love to rip the flesh of a low-level youkai right about now...

...But instead, it turned out to be an indecently-clothed woman carrying a bag on her shoulder. A rather hideous yellow-looking bag, he added.

The lady wasn't that impressing, he had to admit. She looked like she wasn't that much fit to fight well against a low-level youkai. Her clothing seemed more... other-worldy, if he had to name it. Either way, he wasn't staying around to find another word for it.

"Oh, no you don't! Sit down, right now! Sit, sit, sit!"

Startled by the sound of someone's voice (No matter how harsh and high-pitched it was), Kuronue's body tensed as the girl's hand pushed him back on the surface he was on. The ground he was on was covered by a blanket of sorts, which kept rustling every time he twitched...

In the distance, the two in the clearing heard four sounds of something hitting the ground. Silence followed the giant thumps, interrupted by swearing and sounds of someone screaming rather loudly (Kuronue thought it was more like screeching than shouting; he had to wonder whether to screamer was male or female).

The indecently-clothed girl let a small blush of embarassment cross her face, her face turning towards the direction of the screaming person in the distance. He wasn't sure if her ears caught it, but lots of swears- human and youkai ones- were coming from the screeching voice. Apparently, she had heard, since she took a deep breath and started screaming back.

Let's just say that what continued on wasn't very good for Kuronue's good hearing.

After a few minutes of screaming (screeching on some parts), the girl screamed out one word, and another thump was heard. Needless to say, no more words were exchanged from the screaming duo.

The girl sighed, before she turned her head to her forgotten patient. Who just so happened to be a wincing Kuronue, who was holding his ears close to his head. "Oh, I'm sorry! I forgot that you youkai have better hearing!"

She giggled. "Oh, how sorry! Forgot to introduce myself! My name's Kagome Higurashi, and I'll be cleaning your wounds until they're all healed!"

Kuronue inwardly groaned.

_Why do I have the feeling I'm stuck with Hell?_

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

The sound of fire crackling was heard clearly in his ears; A good distraction at the moment.

Sneaking a glance up at the silver kitsune across him, Hiei sighed and threw a few dry pieces of wood into the fire. The fire grew for a split second, then went back to its normal height.

"So, Let me get this straight." he started cautiously, "Shippo is inside his mind, and you- _the_ Youko Kurama- are willing to teach him."

Youko nodded. "He wishes to be trained. 'For the strength to protect,' he says." Getting bored, the kitsune looked at his claws and brushed a few specks of dried blood off the nails.

Hiei nodded. "And you're asking if I would like to join in on the training, correct?" He didn't have any idea whether Youko Kurama was telling the truth or just giving him false hope that Shippo was going to survive. Because honestly, the whole story about marbles and being inside Shippo's mind was too much to understand at the moment.

Golden eyes narrowed at the hiyoukai. "You don't believe me, do you? You honestly think I'm giving you false hope."

_How'd he know?! Is he telepathic or something?_ Hiei glared at him. "And if I don't believe you?" he retorted, distrust clearly in his voice.

Sighing, Youko shook his head. Hiyoukai like him were so distrustful. _Of course,_ he thought _I would be too if I were as forbidden as him._

"You don't have to trust me," he said after a few seconds of silence. "Just help Shippo at least. It would be easier to teach both of you if you were with him."

Silently, Hiei pondered his choices. _I could always go. Who knows, he might be telling the truth. And if it turns out to be a trap, I'll just get out of there as fast as I can. Besides, I really wanna see Shippo._

He sighed. "Fine. Now How do we meet him?"

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

Wings as black as nighttime sky unfurled, catching wind as Kuronue stayed in the shadows.

He let a content sigh slip through his fangs. It had been so long since he last flew in the night. And New Moons were always wonderful. As if to prove his point, the shadows around him grew bigger with each jump from a branch; each leap across a clearing.

The girl-Kagome, he reminded himself- had made sure he was in bed and not moving for the whole day, Letting him move if he said he had a cramp. Other than that, he remained in the silky blanket (It was called a sleeping bag) she gave him.

Of course, Night had come, and as all humans did, she fell asleep. He had taken that opportunity to leave the clearing and spread his wings. If only for a moment. His wounds still haven't healed completely yet, but Kagome's medicine was working wonders for him.

He snorted. She probably got the medicine from someone else, like a youkai. He just couldn't see her making the medicine herself. She was so inexperienced with the wilderness, as was proven when she had tried getting some game for both of them to eat. Failing, she had brought out something called 'Instant Noodles'. If they didn't smell of horrible things, they would be good enough for him to eat for a long time.

Either way, he was free for a few hours. Free from her, free from his thoughts, and free from his eyes.

The golden eyes that looked at him in shock and fear as he got caught in the trap.

Kuronue closed his eyes.

Youko's gaze never left.

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

"Hiei! You're here?"

"Shippo, how'd you get here?"

"If you don't mind me interrupting, but you both need to learn how to use a sword."

Grumbling, Shippo released Hiei from his bear hug, taking a few steps away. "Youko," he stated, wagging his finger, "You're no fun at all."

The silver fox frowned. "I didn't say I would be, did I?"

Shippo grumbled, turning his head to the side. "Yeah, but it would be more fun if you eased up..."

"Shippo, I am not here to 'ease up'. Right now, Hiei is with you so you can both learn swordsmanship." Youko pointed out. "I have already informed Hiei about it, so there should be no more problems."

Glaring at the hiyoukai, Shippo huffed, ignoring Hiei's sheepish smile. " 'No more problems' my butt," he muttered, "You're in for a world of pain Youko...Just you wait."

Hiei watched as Shippo's prank grin came up again. Even though he was glad that he could see Shippo smile again, he didn't really want to know what that kitsune was up to.

Youko sighed, grabbing Shippo's tail for a second. With amusement clearly written on his face, the silver kitsune dangled him up in the air. "I don't know what's going on in your head right now, but you better stop thinking like that. You're with **me** now, and you're going to start training."

Small tears formed in Shippo's eyes as he clung onto his throbbing tail. _This doesn't look good..._

"First off: 100 Push-ups and Sit-ups. Each. Get going, or I'll put weights on your arms."

_I knew it wasn't going to look good!_

_+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+_

"C'mon mister, let me see that wound! That bamboo pole went right through your stomach, so don't say it's alright!"

"Woman, I already told you! I'm a youkai; My wounds will heal faster!"

"It's KAGOME! Ka-Go-Me! Remember it fruit bat!"

"I am not a fruit bat!"

"Am I interrupting something?"

Kagome and Kuronue swiveled their heads to glare at Miroku, who was at the edge of the clearing with a sheepish smile on his face and a blush on his cheeks. "Now now Kagome-Sama, Kuronue-san. There's no need to glare at me like that."

Looking at eachother, both of their glares went back to Miroku. "Yes, there is."

The humble monk chuckled. "Now, I was just wondering what all the fuss was about, seeing as we could hear you two from our camp. But it appears that there's no reason for the rest of us to fear."

Wondering what Miroku was wondering about, Kagome and Kuronue looked at eachother...

..And realized what kind of position they were in. Screeching, Kagome let go of Kuronue's shirt and jumped off the bat, while Kuronue crab-ran backwards to a nearby tree. "Miroku, why didn' you tell me?!"

"I was going to, but you both continued to stare at me like I was thinking something lecherous."

Kuronue gave him a blank stare, getting up into a sitting position. "That's because you were."

"Not my fault you people keep giving me opportunities."

Scoffing, Kagome crawled back to her bag, where the first-aid kit was. "Your problem. Now, would you mind leaving? I have to check Mr.I'm-not-injured-at-all." she muttered, sticking her thumb at a glowering Kuronue.

"I told you, it'll heal fast! No need to check it."

"You're just saying that because you're scared I'll use the alcohol on you again, aren't you?" Kagome inwardly cheered as she noticed Kuronue's suddenly stiff posture. "Oh ho! Judging by your expression, I hit the nail right on the head."

Horrified at being near the alcohol, Kuronue swivvled his head to look at Miroku straight in the eyes. "Please," he begged, clasping his hands together and shaking them. "Please, help me. I'll do anything you want."

Putting his hands up, Miroku slowly backed away from the camp. "Sorry Kuronue-san, been through that before. She won't stop, so I suggest you get used to it. Bye now!" With a cheery tune in his whistle, Miroku turned his back and raced back to Sango and the others, ignoring Kuronue's screams of fury.

"MIROKU, GET BACK HERE!"

"SIT DOWN, KURONUE!"

Bam.

"Sorry Inuyasha!"

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

"Kuronue is alive."

Silence.

"I'm sorry Koenma-sama, repeat that?"

Sighing, Koenma slumped his shoulders, leaning back into the chair he was currently sitting on. "Your partner, Kuronue, is alive." Koenma expected silence, a threat, even a weapon against his throat!

What he didn't expect was for Kurama to start chuckling, effectively scaring the rest of his teammates.

Hiei gave a look at Kurama, making sure that nothing was out of place with the avatar. _Did not expect that. Then again, you can never tell what he's thinking at times._

Muffling his chuckles for the meanwhile, Kurama stared at Koenma. "Koenma-sama, Youko hopes you are telling the truth..." Trailing off from there, Kurama fished a rather sharp blade of grass from his hair, feeding it some of his yokai, until it grew to be the size of Hiei's own sword. "It would be horrible if you were joking about all this." He finished with a gleam in his eyes.

Koenma gulped. This was not going to be a good day. _Might as well get it over with now,_ he thought. "Yes, Kurama. I am sure that Kuronue is alive. His soul was never found, and Botan is currently with him at the moment.

Everyone's heads shot up, Kurama's eyes widening even more. "Botan is with Kuronue? Where is she?"

Koenma coughed. "Five hundred years into the past."

Silence.

"Koenma-sama, are you sure you haven't been taking anything?"

"I'm sure Kurama. I didn't know, either."

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

"ACHOO!"

Sniffling, Botan rubbed her nose. "I think someone's talking about me."

Shippo looked up toward the floating ferry girl. "Botan-chan, did they find out you were gone yet?" he asked, ignoring Hiei's questioning look. "You did mention that they didn't -OW! YOUKO, WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!"

The silver kitsune in question huffed, turning his thornless whip back into a rose. "You weren't paying attention. If I were a real opponent, you would be dead already, and your head would be rolling on the ground, right towards..." He looked around, stopping at Hiei. "...Well, it would stop rolling as soon as it touched Hiei's feet.

Hiei grimanced and stepped back.

"Youko, how would you know if my head would roll Hiei's way? It might roll towards you, or even Botan." Shippo pointed out.

Botan shrieked and stood up on her oar, moving a little ways back. Youko shook his head. "Nice going Shippo," he muttered, continuing to shake his head. "Let's freak everyone out..."

"What?" Shippo shrugged his shoulders and picked up the sword made of bamboo. "You started it."

"Oh, very mature. Tell me, who's the one asking me to do all this?"

"Guys, both of you. Stop acting so immature. Hiei's better than you both and he's the youngest!" Waving her hand at the silent hiyoukai, Botan huffed and sat down on her oar again.

The two kitsunes shrugged, turning to face eachother once more. Again, the sound of fighting was heard, along with a few comments in between blows.

Botan sighed. "Kitsunes."

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

"Inuyasha, why don't you come down from the tree and eat something? Kagome-sama is still treating Kuronue-san's wounds, so there's no reason to be up there."

Hearing no answer, Miroku sighed, placing the cup of ramen on the tree roots. With a slight grumble and some mutters, the tired monk headed back towards Sango, where he would probably be whacked quite hardly on the head. _Inuyasha is not making my day any easier,_ he bitterly thought.

After a few seconds of making sure Miroku and Sango were occupied, the red-clothed hanyou jumped down from the tree, grabbed the cup, and jumped back up in the time it took you to say 'snicker-doodle'. Letting the noodles cool down, Inuyasha found himself lost in his thoughts again.

_"Kikyou, what do you mean by Kagome losing her soul?"_

_"Exactly what I'm saying. The kit and my reincarnation have a strong bond. Make one disappear, and the other will try and find them. But in this case, it is their souls that have a bond, along with their minds. Kagome's soul is sending pieces of itself to the kit, since she can sense that he is injured."_

_Inuyasha grabbed her shoulders, shaking her gently. "Please, Kikyou. How do we help? I don't want to lose those two..."_

_Kikyou looked deep into his eyes, and all she saw was regret, pain, and the longing the help. Placing a hand on each of his largers claws, she gently pushed them away and turned around, heading out of the clearing._

_"Find the kit, and bring them together. When they meet, or if he is healed, she should stop sending bits." She said behind her back. Inuyasha's eyes softened, and his figure slackened. "Kikyou, thank y-"_

_"I suggest you do it soon. A few more nights, and that girl Kagome will cease to exist."_

_Kikyou never saw Inuyasha's horrified face as she left, the light of her soul collectors the only way to navigate through the brush quickly._

* * *

**Mashin:** There you have it! Another chapter done. Sorry for the delay, I've been drawing too much for my life.

Not beta-ed, and not edited...Well, not that much. And just a note to those people wondering: I DON'T HAVE A BETA READER, I NEVER WILL. Gosh.

Have a good day!  
-Masher.


	6. Chapter 6:Angel

"If I could be your angel,  
_(Your angel, your angel)  
_Protect you from the pain,  
_(From the pain…)  
_I'll keep you safe from danger,  
_(From danger, from danger)  
_You'll never hurt again,  
I'll be you're A.N.G.E.L…"

_-_Angel, Natasha Bedingfield

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"Dreams and wishes; Oh, God above…Dreams and wishes…"

Looking up, Shippo twitched his head away from Hiei and Youko's spar. "Botan, what are you singing?"

The reaper on the oar sighed. Bitterly smiling, she reached down and petted the seat beside her, giving Shippo permission to sit on the oar. "It's a short song I heard a young girl's soul singing. I guess it would have been a few years ago…"

The young kitsune craned his neck to look at her in the eyes. "Is that why you're so sad?"

"Well…maybe. It's more like I'm sad because she escaped Death's clutches, and I don't want to hear her sing that again when she dies…"

Shippo shook his head. "Botan, I don't understand. Who was singing?"

Botan sighed. "A little girl around your age. They called her Rin, in her life. I suspect she's in this time as well, since she was wearing a kimono from this time period…. Shippo-chan?!"

Looking up from their spar, Hiei's hand dropped the grass blade as he rushed towards Botan, who was trying to comfort a crying Shippo in her arms. "Shippo-chan, oh Shippo-chan, what's wrong?" She chanted over and again, trying to get the little kitsune to talk.

"Miss Botan…" the hiyoukai started, watching as more small tears fell from Shippo's eyes. "What happened?"

"I don't know!" she cried, clutching onto Shippo as his cries got even louder. "All I mentioned was a girl called Rin!"

Relaxing his shoulders, Hiei just smiled and patted Shippo's shoulder, standing on the tip of his toes to reach the oar. "Don't worry Miss Botan, Shippo's not in any danger."

The blue haired reaper looked curiously at Hiei, slowly letting go of Shippo as his sobs turned softer by the second. "Hiei-chan, what do you mean?" Even after hearing that Shippo wasn't in any danger, her hand still softly combed through the little kitsune's auburn hair.

Hiei smirked. "He's just remembering some things. When he was with…. His old group, they would come across Rin, who was with Sesshomaru-dono." He fidgeted as he recalled watching Sesshomaru fight against a few rogue youkai once. It wasn't a pretty sight, and Hiei couldn't stop thinking about it for nights at a time.

About to respond, Botan looked down at the once-sobbing kitsune, who was now merely curled up into a ball and gently sleeping, small tears still clinging onto his eyelashes. "Kagome okaa-san…"

Hiei let a bitter smile out. "See? Just remembering some things…"

Botan frowned as Hiei's façade faltered for a moment, the secretive hiyoukai fixing it immedietly. _Oh, Hiei…_

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

_Wrap._

Pinning Kuronue's muscle-clad arms to the ground, Kagome tried wrapping the bandage around his stomach one more time, ignoring how the bat was yelling at her to let him free. After a few seconds of trying –but not succeeding, the miko let out a sigh of frustration and whacked his shoulder, smirking in victory as Kuronue let out a yelp.

"Hold still, Kuronue! I'm just checking your wounds!"

Said bat in question snorted, crossing his arms over his torso (The same arms being pulled back by Kagome)."Woman, if anything else, you're trying to give me an early start to the grave!"

"Shut up, and stop being a baby!" She retorted, now having lost her patience. Giving a good growl for a human, she angrily stuck up her middle finger.

It was silent in the clearing, and Kagome let out a grin. "Good." With that, she picked up the roll of bandages near her thigh and went back to wrapping Kuronue's stomach. No sound was heard from the bat for a good two minutes, and Kagome was wondering what was wrong.

Looking up at his face, Kagome frowned at Kuronue's confused grin. "_What_?"

"Why did you stick up your middle finger?"

She sighed. "Because it's a sign that I hate you." Biting back more of the meaning, she gave the bandage a harsh tug before managing to get it between his back and the sleeping bag. Making sure the bandage wasn't tangled or twisted, she hummed a little tune and continued.

After a few more seconds, the bandage was tied, and Kagome was reaching over to place all her equipment in her trusty white box, when she realized that Kuronue was _still_ not talking. She gave a sigh. "Okay, why aren't you talking anymore?" She asked, not bothering to turn her head.

"Your panties are showing."

Hearing a Screech, Kuronue felt something hard whack the side of his head as his eyes closed, hearing Miroku chastise Kagome about hitting injured people.

_She really is trying to kill me…._ Were his last thoughts as he fell unconscious.

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

"Kagome-sama, couldn't you have wounded him after he had finished healing?"

Pausing in her mission to pick up her trusty –yet heavy- backpack, Kagome looked up at Miroku's face. "Err… Oops?"

Sighing, the black-haired monk walked forward and picked up Kagome's backpack for her, motioning with one hand to leave the unconscious Kuronue in the clearing and to follow his footsteps. "Kagome-sama, please remember to not fully trust Kuronue-san. He _is_ the partner to Youko Kurama." Miroku whispered.

Huffing, Kagome picked up her pace, only to slow down as she fell into step with the frowning monk. "Don't worry Miroku-kun. I'll be fine! I haven't survived this long by luck alone. Besides, I'm strong! I can take care of myself!" As if to spite her, an innocent root happened to come up and trip her ankle, effectively making her land on her chin. Miroku winced; already knowing that was going to leave a bruise.

"Lady Kagome, are you alright?" Bending down to stretch out a hand, Miroku chuckled as he watched Kagome turn her head to fully glare at the little root sticking up above the ground. Sometimes Kagome could just be childish. But then again, that was what made her, well _her_.

Groaning, she picked herself off the ground and dusted off her knees. "I'm fine! Perfectly safe—"

Miroku's eyes widened as he dived down to cradle the unconscious Kagome, who was looking a lot paler than last night. Pressing two fingers to her neck, the bag laid at his side as he stood up. A few of her fingers twitched at the sudden motion, but no other reaction was seen. The monk panicked as he picked up the bag and started running back to the camp.

"Someone, help!"

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

The pink glowing marble slowly bobbed up and down, making its way to the unconscious figure of the red-haired kitsune on a cot in the corner of the hut. With a sharp bob and a flash of light, it was gone, and Shippo's figure illuminated with pink light for a mere second, disappearing in the next.

Youko tore his gaze away from the slumbering kit. He had witnessed what he wanted, and it was a matter of time before he found out what was going on between Shippo and that woman who appeared a few nights ago. He was sure that the woman was important to Shippo. That much was obvious, if Shippo's body was going to accept the small marbles coming to him every night. The question was: How important was this Kagome to Shippo?

The silver kitsune sighed, resting his cheek on his palm. Shippo and Hiei continued to slumber; the quiet only broken by mutters escaping Shippo's mouth. After a few seconds of silence, Shippo turned over, his eyebrows scrunched together in worry, even in his sleep. Drool fell out of the corner of his mouth, landing on the wooden floor underneath him.

"Kagome okaa-san…"

Youko smirked.

One more piece of the puzzle.

Countless more left to go.

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

"Houshi, you better tell me what happened or so help me I'll-"

Waving his hands up in the air, Miroku backed away from the livid Sango, who was gripping the Hirakotsu with white fingers. "I swear! Sango, I didn't do anything!" The monk shouted, bringing his hands in front of him. Pfft, as if that'll help him.

The slayer's face continued to steam red from anger. "Dammit Houshi, spit out what happened again!" Waving the Hirakotsu around like a stick, Sango approached the monk with a deadly aura surrounding her, effectively making Miroku let out a shudder from the sheer lust for violence the woman had suddenly gained.

"Let's get moving."

Pausing, the two conscious humans turned their heads to see Inuyasha with Kagome on his back, who was looking at them with a grim expression. "We need to head north. Right now." His hand held Kagome's yellow backpack by the strap, and they noticed that most of the camp was already put away.

Sango stood up, walking towards Inuyasha until she was in his face. "Inuyasha! Kagome-chan and Kuronue-san are in no place to be moved! And in case you haven't noticed, but Kagome-chan has a fever! She might be delusional! We don't even know why she collapsed!" With each sentence, a finger was jabbed into Inuyasha's chest, causing the hanyou to wince with every jab.

In the background, Kuronue leaned against a tree trunk, watching the scene with confusion written on his face. _She didn't look sick when I was with her a few minutes before her collapse. And even if she was hiding it, I should have been able to see it. I may not have as much of a good nose as Youko or that mutt over there, but…_

"Inuyasha! Put her down and get back here!"

Looking up, the bat youkai noticed Inuyasha was now perched on a thick branch rather high up, looking down at Sango with that same grim expression on his face. Below, Sango was _still_ waving the Hirakotsu with such ferocity not there earlier. Combined with her deadly glare and the sword in her other hand, she made a sight to behold.

Miroku stayed to the sides, shivering. _I didn't know Sango could get this angry…_

"Inuyasha!" Hearing no answer, Sango let out a sigh of frustration. "Give me strength…Inuyasha! Get down there and tell us why you want us to move out right now!" More waves of the Hirakotsu were thrown at his direction, and by now, Miroku had gathered enough courage to stand beside Sango and continue to stare at the hanyou.

Having no want to reply to her, Inuyasha merely jumped onto the next branch and paused, looking behind his back. In his arms, Kagome's finger twitched. "Let's go, unless you want Kagome dead." He didn't wait for an answer as he crouched lower towards the branch, leaping off with a burst of speed. Below him, Sango, Miroku, and Kuronue sighed as they started clearing up the camp, with the exception of Kuronue, who was still injured.

"What do you think he's talking about? I don't think Kagome-sama's faint would have caused him to be that worried, or say anything that severe." Miroku asked Sango in a whisper, as he used his feet to shuffle the dirt to hid evidence of their stay. A few leaves and natural things dropped by Kirara, and they were all set.

Kuronue shook his head. "Let's just hope it isn't anything too drastic." Was his reply as he flapped his wings, gliding just barely above the top of the trees.

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

Kneeling on the ground in front of the two young youkai, Youko's blunt stare went through Shippo, sending chills along the spine of the younger kitsune. "Shippo-kun, are you sure you'll be alright?"

"Yes! I will! Why does everyone keep asking that?!" Shippo cried, throwing his hands into the air. It was clear the kit was troubled and annoyed with all the pestering and attention he had gotten ever since he had started crying, but this was getting ridiculous!

A small snort from the hiyoukai besides him changed his thoughts. Okay, so maybe there was someone who didn't give him an extra amount of attention. At least he could rely on Hiei to be blunt and non-responsive.

Youko grinned, rubbing both their heads (To the dismay of both, especially Hiei. Spiky hair just wasn't as easy to spike up in the mind of a kitsune). "Don't worry Shippo-kun, we'll have you treated like Hiei-kun in no time!"

The silver kitsune let out a feral grin as he pulled out his rose whip, this time with real thorns. "Now, on a side note…" He trailed off, staring between the two as they pulled out their choice weapons from the array they had be taught the basics in. "Let's play."

Shippo and Hiei let out a cry and ran as Youko pounced forward. "Botan! Help us!" The two yelled simultaneously as Hiei barely rolled out of the whip's range.

At the sidelines, Botan shook her head as she sipped a small cup of green tea, watching the young youkai jump around like grasshoppers. "Nope, sorry boys. You agreed to this, you're finishing it." Again, she took a sip from the tea, before standing up and dusting off the front of her kimono. "Anyways, I've got to check on something."

Youko paused in his assault on the two youkai, as did Hiei and Shippo. "Miss Botan, where are you going? You've been heading off rather early for days now." Once again, Hiei's cold eyes stared at her, and the ferry girl felt like shivering for the third time that day.

"Oh, don't you worry," She waved her hand as she mounted the oar. "I'm just checking up on those who are covering my job for me." And with that, Botan shot through the darkness and disappeared, leaving a trio of confused youkai.

Shaking his head, Youko adjusted his grip on the whip. "Now, where did we leave off…"

Once again, Hiei and Shippo yelped as they ran for their lives.

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

"Hello there, Kuronue. How are you doing?"

Floating downwards on her oar, Botan watched as the bat youkai distinctly pointed towards the line of trees, and she nodded. Heading off before him, the blue-haired ferry girl heard Kuronue say something about taking a flight, before he landed beside her in a flash of black wings.

Kuronue stared at the Grim Reaper who had started visiting a few days after Kagome had taken him under her wing. He had been informed off all that had happened, and why no other Grim Reaper had gone near him yet. Apparently, it was because of the purifying powers that all Miko held. Kagome's was a special case, since she (And Kikyou) were tied into the Jewel, allowing them an above-average amount of power.

"Botan-san, what brings the visit? I was told that you would not visit for a few more days, seeing as Youko was pushing the brats' training."

Groaning, Botan placed her hands on her hips as she shook her head, reminding the youkai of the unconscious woman back with Inuyasha. "Kuronue! You don't call Shippo-chan and Hiei-chan brats! That's not nice! Besides, that means you were a brat as well."

Kuronue let a small chuckle vibrate throughout his body, wincing as it hit the nasty puncture wound through his abdomen. "I don't think the brats like you calling them -chan. Anyways..." His face lost the smile he had worn a few moments ago, his wings flopping as he lost the energy to keep them upright. "You don't usually come early for a reason. What's going on?"

Botan sighed. "I can't keep anything from your ears, can I?" She asked, shaking her head. Nutherless, the ferry girl was pulling a small file from her sleeve. How the file managed to fit in there was Kuronue's guess.

"People in Renkai are starting to suspect something, Kuronue. Keep your guard up. Apparently, you've been spotted before, but they've been silenced." She informed the smirking bat youkai. "And they haven't be silenced in that way, so you can stop getting your hopes up for some violence."

Kuronue groaned as he skimmed through the short file. "Dammit. I was hoping for a little blood and-What is this?!" At Botan's confused look, the bat youkai pulled out a sheet of paper and shoved it in the girl's face, ignoring her look. "Why is this file about Kagome-chan?!"

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**Mashin:** It's done…? –Shakes head- Seems like this fell off at a weird place, but the rest is in another chapter. And so, I sacrificed time for more content. Woo.  
Thank you to those that reviewed, and those that read this at least once!  
Mashin signing off~!


	7. Chapter 7:Turning Point

**Mashin:** Well, I failed in trying to update before my intended goal date…again. But hey, at least I updated! …Right? (I own nothing.)

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

"What is this?" Kuronue asked for the second time, shoving the paper in her face again.

Reaching forward to swipe the paper from the bat youkai's grasp, Botan brought it closer to her face as she skimmed over the lines, eyes moving furiously with the motion. Silence followed as Kuronue 'patiently' waited for Botan to finish reading.

"Oh, no!" Grabbing the file and stuffing it in between the covers, Botan slipped the manila-colored folder into her sleeve again. "That must have come from some other file! My bad~!" She hastily cried, sticking her tongue out.

Kuronue merely stayed silent and bent down, flapping his wings as he did. With a _'whoosh'_, the youkai flew into the air and disappeared beyond the treetops.

Botan sighed, feeling the tiredness rest on her shoulders once more. "I need a break..." Mumbling more words, the ferry girl slid onto her oar with practiced ease and sped off, paying no attention to the small slip of paper gently falling to the ground behind her.

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

"_You love me, right Inuyasha? But yo__u also love her."_

_Silence._

"_Something makes me doubt your words. Do you love the me right now? The me that is the hate of Kagome? The past me?"_

_The sound of muffled words rang through her ears._

"_I won't know. But soon, you'll only be able to love me."_

_Whatever muffled the sounds was released, and screams tore through the area._

"_One more night, Inuyasha. One more night."_

"NO!"

Looking up from his spot, Miroku hollered towards the shaky hanyou up in the tree. "Inuyasha, are you alright?" The monk waited a few moments for an answer. "Inuyasha, is something wrong?"

Panting, the white-haired hanyou replied with a stutter in his voice. "I-I'm fine, Miroku. Get some sleep. We'll…we'll be leaving at sunrise."

Guilt clenched at his heart, equally painful as the helplessness he felt in that moment. Looking down at Kagome, his guilt was replaced by curiosity as he took in her pale and sweaty appearance, and the small orb of pink floating above her. With a '_fwwsh'_, the orb took off towards the North, leaving a small trail of pink dust behind it.

Caught up in his own curiosity, Inuyasha never noticed the sound of flapping wings, or the shape of a familiar hat perched upon the bat youkai's head. With a grunt, the hanyou took off in the same direction the orb had gone off in.

Kuronue silently landed on the same branch Inuyasha had jumped off on seconds earlier, his gaze holding the entire camp as he watched the humans sleep. Sensing some disturbance in the tree, Miroku blinked and peered up again, not surprised to see purple and black. "Good evening, Kuronue-san."

Nodding, the bat youkai returned his gaze to the entire clearing, even as Miroku chuckled and closed his eyes. The youkai had taken to watching the camp whenever Inuyasha snuck off into the night, so none of them felt bothered with Kuronue's gaze.

_How many times has this happened before?_

The fact that they weren't scared or threatened was what worried him.

"Go to sleep, Miroku."

Nodding, the tired Miroku turned around and laid his head on the pillow, eyes closing as the worries and problems swam through his head.

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

500 years in the past, Botan was snooping around in Renkai's large mass of files, searching for the elusive, green colored file.

500 years after that, she was doing the same thing, but for different reasons.

"I know it's in here somewhere," she muttered as one hand flipped through a few pages, and the other hand flung the file past her shoulder. "I know it's got something to do with-"

"With these memory gaps?"

Whipping her head around, Botan sighed in relief at the face of Kurama, stiffening slightly at the glowering face of Hiei. "Oh! Kurama-san! Hiei-san! It's just you guys?" Laughing, she waved her hand as another file found its way into her lap.

"Indeed." Looking around, Kurama tsked and Hiei merely glared at a piece of paper that had found its way to his head, effectively ending the paper's life by spontaneous combustion. "Care to explain the state of Renkai's files? Last I checked George kept this place quite organized." He asked, flipping through one of the files Botan had thrown behind her earlier.

Botan giggled. "Oh, I'm just looking for a file Koenma-sama asked me to get him, and- Hey, don't try using the Jagan on me!" Her eyes immedietly turned to glare at the hiyoukai glaring back, forehead glowing with the shape of a third eye behind the bandana. "Tapping into my mind will give you no answers!"

Hiei's glared intensified as he peeked at a small slip of paper just trying to fall on his head, much like its brethren on the floor as ashes. "You're looking for information on the Sengoku period, which means you've encountered these…_memory problems_," the small youkai stated with disdain "Like us."

Kurama nodded, kneeling besides Botan and shuffling some papers by to reach another file the ferry girl hadn't reached yet. "And due to the state this place is in compared to a few hours ago, it's obvious that you've gathered some kind of information by now."

"You guys just keep on winning, don't you?" Sighing, Botan fling some blue hair out of her vision as she threw another file behind her, not caring if it hit Hiei in the least. "I don't have much, but since you two seem to be experiencing the same thing, it wouldn't hurt to share information we have, would it?"

Nodding, Kurama sat on one of the only tables not covered in manila-colored files. "That might make it easier. Even if we have met before," Gold eyes stared at Hiei, and a small smile came to mind at one of the more humorous events before as Youko, "We must have the story at different angles. I say we start with our friend Hiei-kun here, since you seemed to be the one here with the bigger tie to Shippo-kun."

Hiei snorted, taking Kurama's invitation to the table. "Don't remind me," he said, sitting cross-legged and letting his elbows hit his knees. "The runt was pathetic in strength, almost to the point where it would have been a blessing to have killed him then."

"But you didn't." Botan pointed out. Pulling out her oar, the woman jumped on it and hovered a few feet above the sea made of paper below. "You didn't kill him then; he killed himself."

"As I said, don't remind me."

Kurama smiled as more old memories resurfaced in the mind of Youko. "But depending on what Youko has seen, you had befriended him, even if he were physically weak. Tell me, Hiei. Why _did_ you befriend him?"

The whole room was silent, as Botan and Kurama waited for Hiei's answer. After seconds of nothing, the hiyoukai snorted and turned his head. "He was an orphan."

Botan sighed. "That's it?" Almost ready to pester him for more answers, the ferry girl closed her mouth at Kurama's gaze.

"It's probably something he doesn't want to talk about yet." Kurama explained. Flipping some of the stray hair over his shoulder, the kitsune crossed his right leg over his left, ignoring Hiei's mind comment about his sexuality. "Although, I thought Shippo had a mother by the name of Kagome."

"I thought Kagome was only a traveling comrade, almost to the point of surrogate sister, according to the stories he told." Hiei commented. Looking back on the conversations, he recalled the younger kitsune mentioning Kagome many times with the air of trust and familiarity. Seeing as the girl was a miko, the hiyoukai had brushed it off as a sibling complex.

"Oh! Kagome Higurashi, right?"

Kurama nodded. "I take it you know her, Botan?"

Botan nodded. "She's the one who found Kuronue-san!"

Now it was Kurama turn to look confused, and Hiei's turn to look both confused and curious.

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

Looking up into the sky of black, Shippo let his arms fall limp as he got up for his battle position. Ignoring the stares of the one he was sparring, the younger kitsune continued to look up, even after the blade fell from his hands.

"Shippo-kun?" Getting up as well, Hiei placed a hand on his friend's shoulder, who remained non-responsive at the contact. Worried, Hiei shook his shoulders. "Shippo-kun, what's up?"

Youko snorted. "Why, the sky, of course, you-"

Nobody heard the end of his sentence as the mindscape exploded in a flash of pink light, sending everyone flying except for the small kit in the center of the beam.

Hiei cried out as strings of the light surrounded him, pinning his arms and legs together as he continued to fly in the air. Smelling burned flesh, the hiyoukai looked down to see burn marks laced around his body, as the pink whips continued to surround him.

Youko was experiencing the same pain as the whips overcame his own vines, disintegrating them in a flash as he felt energy sapping away. Botan stayed behind him, whacking away the whips that decided to aim for his back.

_So the miko Kagome has come to play…_

Youko lost the ability to think as he fell into the dark abyss known as unconsciousness.

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

_Sorry._

The sound vibrated through the clearing as Youko woke up to a massive headache. Clutching his head, the kitsune paused in his attempt to stand up as he watched a pink marble roll towards his feet. Looking around, he reached down and picked it up as the glow surrounding it disappeared, leaving it looking like a pink bauble, instead of the solid manifestation of memories.

"These things again…" Small flashes of the last time he encountered Kagome's memories made Youko rethink on picking up the bauble.

_Thank you,_

The voice came again, overlapped by several voices he couldn't distinguish. Looking down, Youko nearly dropped the marble in shock as it started glowing again; reminding him of the whips of pink he had just encountered in Shippo's mind moments before. Looking down at his arms, golden eyes widened by a fraction as small burn marks slowly appeared where the whips had attacked him. Second by second, the burns disappeared and left injury-free flesh behind.

_Watch over him?_

"Of course." Youko replied into the air, automatically thinking of the small kit that had burrowed his way into the silver kitsune's mind. A small pulse of light emitted from the marble at his words, and the thing shattered in his hands. Pink dust surrounded him as his surroundings changed, this time into a similar clearing, but with others in it.

Youko growled in shock. "What the hell did you do?!" He shouted to the skies, as the others in the clearing paid no attention to him. Reaching forward to clutch the robes of the one who looked like a monk, he was surprised when his hand passed right through. "Is this a memory?" Youko thought out loud as he stared around.

_No. Not a memory. A vision._

"Can't you explain in more than a few words? You talk less than Hiei-kun."

_Not enough energy… _The rest of the words were drowned out by the voices, and Youko looked towards the monk to see his mouth move in time with the words.

"What am I hearing?" He asked, this time looking at the pale miko on the ground in the clearing. The dust circled around him once more, before dropping into his outstretched palm as a heap of sand, solidifying into the same marble he had picked up in the other clearing.

_What I hear._

It clicked. "This is like an out-of-body experience to you, isn't it?" Youko kneeled down and dropped the marble on Kagome's chest, watching with interest, as it seemed to melt into her body. "Why did you summon me here?"

_Not just you. Others._

"Like Hiei?" Youko looked around, but saw no sight of the hiyoukai. "I don't see him."

_Experience same as you. Same place, different dimension. _This time, all the voices disappeared for a split second, and Youko found himself in a vast space of darkness, much like Shippo's mindscape when he first arrived. Kagome's voice echoed around the room, seemingly overlapped by her own voice again.

_Listen [en]. Kuronue-san [an] wishes to see—[ou]. Never says it [t], but—notic-ceable [le]._

"What's going on?" Youko spun around to meet Hiei's look with his own confused eyes. Not sure whether the hiyoukai was confused or annoyed, the kitsune took it for the latter as he looked up again. "Kagome, you're not making sense."

Kagome's voice let out a chuckle shocking Hiei more than he would admit. _N-no ti- [me]. Care for S-Shippo [po]?_

Looking at each other, the two youkai nodded upwards. "Of course."

_T-Thank—_

_[Ba-bump]_

"Kagome?"

Youko barely had time to collect himself as the darkness disappeared in a flash of pink light.

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

In reality, Sango was trying to keep Kagome from shaking the blanket off of her body. Placing a shaking hand on her forehead, Sango spun her head around to try and ignore another of Kagome's screams. "Miroku-kun, where's the fever medication she had in her bag?!" She called out again, heedless of Inuyasha's canine ears. Kuronue was at a stream collecting clean water, and they weren't sure how long it would take him.

Seconds later, the monk clothing was at Sango's side, and Miroku was closing the bottle once more. "Where's Kuronue-san and the water?" He called out much like Sango, even though his hands were occupied with keeping Kagome's convulsing body still.

"_C-Care for S-Shippo?"_

Sango swore loudly, watching with little satisfaction as Inuyasha's ears shut themselves flat against his skull. "Miroku-kun, she's hallucinating again!" Tears choked her sobs as she pressed her hands harder against Kagome's chest, listening painfully as Kagome let out another scream. "Miroku-kun, do something!"

For once, the monk had no answers. "I don't know what to do! What's going on?!"

"Kagome-chan's dying."

Taking the split second of shock to release his hands and turn around to face the hanyou in the eye, Miroku glared at him. "What?!"

In the split second it took for him to turn, it took for Kagome's shaking body to lift her fist.

In the split second it took Miroku to open his mouth, Sango was pushed off Kagome and towards the other side of the clearing, due to the pink glow around the miko's hands.

In the second it took Miroku to finish his single word, a single heart stopped beating.

_[Ba-bump]_

_[Ba-bu-]_

Inuyasha was silent as he heard the organ die with his ears, replaced with the noise of the ground faintly rumbling. Silent, all power to his legs disappeared as the silver-haired hanyou fell to the ground in shock.

Miroku blinked. "Inu..yasha?"

Turning around, the monk took a step back. "No."

Kuronue burst through the foliage, a bowl of water in his arms. "Miroku- What the…"

None of them could turn their eyes away as all-too-familiar tentacles pulled themselves out of Kagome's body, disappearing through the large holes in the earth to re-appear besides their master in seconds.

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**Mashin:** There's your chapter. –Blows on tissue- I'll be working on that Valentine's one-shot now. If I get a plot up and running. I NEEDZ TO GET MAHSELF INSPIRATION AND A MUSE!

-Mashin.


End file.
